Why did women not act in Shakespeare's plays?

Answer 1

It is because in England at Shakespeare's time, and for many years after his death it was illegal, not because people thought that only men were good in acting or because women didn't know anything, but rather because it was considered indecent. It is the same reason why women are not allowed to swim competitively in topless bathing suits; not because they cannot swim or are stupid but because it is considered indecent for them to go topless. In fact, shortly after Shakespeare's death a touring French acting company was booed off the stage because there were actresses in the company. The audience could tell perfectly well that the women could act.

It was only after Charles II returned to England that he brought the Continental broad-mindedness about females on stage with him, and the ban on actresses was lifted. The stigma remained, however, for centuries, and actresses were considered immoral as a group into the twentieth century, The popularity of jokes using the phrase "as the bishop said to the actress", an early form of "that's what she said", attests to this stigma.